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Matt Elam of the Florida Gators will likely be a first or second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Matt Elam's name will be called before Saturday morning. By then, the first through third rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft will have come and gone, leaving four more rounds of players to be selected by NFL teams. In fact, if Elam's name is not crossed off all team boards by the end of the second round, it will come as a surprise. The safety from the University of Florida Gators football team is strong, has proven to have a great sense of awareness on the field and is considered by many scouts as one of the best safeties available in this year's Draft.

Elam may not even make it past the first day (Friday) of the 2013 NFL Draft. As of April 18, nine out of twelve NFL.com analysts, including Matt Smith, Charles Davis, Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks projected Elam to be selected by the end of the first round, with Smith believing that the Cincinnati Bengals would choose him at the team's twenty-first overall position. The safety who played three years at Florida before deciding it was the right time to leave school is about to receive a lot of money after he is drafted, and unlike every other player who is eventually selected in the same round as him, Elam may not have to pay a portion of his salary to a football agent. That is because Elam, named a first-team All-American by a variety of publications in 2012, has chosen to travel the path to the NFL Draft by himself.

Actually, saying that Elam has traversed the pre-NFL Draft landscape by himself is not even a half-truth. Along the way, he has been guided by his brother, Abram "Abe" Elam, who has played on four different NFL teams and has been represented by three different agents throughout his career. Matt has also retained Ashley Kerns of Kerns Marketing and Management to assist the safety with marketing and public relations. But Elam has not signed a Standard Representation Agreement ("SRA") with an NFLPA certified Contract Advisor. That means he will not have to pay up to three percent (3%) of his salary to an agent. There is nothing normal about this situation. In 2012, every single player drafted (out of a total of 253) was represented by an NFLPA Contract Advisor. Is there anything wrong with Matt Elam choosing to enter the NFL Draft without a contract advisor by his side?

"I do get the question a lot about why rookie players need agents when the wages are predetermined," explained respected NFL Business Analyst, Andrew Brandt, when asked about Elam's decision. "Agents will point to the pre-Draft training, both physical and mental (interviews), as well as the positioning and information-gathering that goes on with scouts and teams. I do think there is some value to that, and certainly some tangible value in the IMG/API-type training facilities."

However, Elam did not have a need to receive monetary assistance from an agent in order to get the pre-Draft training he desired. He had his brother, a seasoned NFL veteran, to guide him throughout the pre-Draft process, giving Matt an advantage over many other players without siblings who have played in the NFL. "Matt Elam is in a unique situation because his brother, Abram, is an NFL veteran and has been working as his advisor during the run-up to the draft," said Neil Stratton, President of an insider football consulting service called Inside The League. "Historically, draft-eligible players with close relatives that have extensive NFL experience very often have a protracted agent selection process that tends to drag."

However, Abe Elam does not consider Matt's process one that has begun to drag. In fact, Abe would say it is a process that has yet to begin. "Not to discredit any agent, but Matt has done the things to put himself in a position to have a high draft grade without an agent," said Abe Elam to FORBES. "There is no contract right now to be evaluated because he hasn't been drafted yet. At some point we will have to address whether Matt should hire an agent or an attorney. We are not biased against agents; we have just been able to delay the process because of the resources he has."

Stratton compares Elam's situation with that of California DE Cameron Jordan in the 2011 NFL Draft, whose father, Steve, played tight end with the Vikings, and Virginia CB Chase Minnifield, whose father, Frank, had a lengthy career with the Browns, in the 2012 Draft. "From the start, it’s been clear from agents I’ve spoken to that Abram Elam has very specific expectations about what he wants from a Contract Advisor for his brother, and that’s been true for over a year," answered Stratton. "Those expectations are based on their belief that he’s slated to go anywhere from 30-40 in the Draft and the attendant contract and negotiations that accompany that slot."

If Elam is all but guaranteed to be picked somewhere between the mid-first round to the end of the second round, is an agent even needed? Further, since Matt Elam has gone so long without an agent, what would be the point of hiring one with only days prior to the Draft? Brandt seems to understand that the value of an agent could diminish once a player is drafted. "For the negotiation, however, the bulk of the contract is set by draft position," said Brandt. However, he expounded upon that statement by adding, "Depending on where he is drafted, there may be nuances with extent of guarantee, roster or workout bonuses in the latter part of the deal, etc." Kerns told FORBES that Elam has not ruled out the possibility of hiring a Contract Advisor or an attorney to help him with the contract process after he is drafted, and said, "he is not going to negotiate it all by himself. It is more about the timing than whether he will be doing it by himself."

Matt Elam's NFL Draft process, from pre-Draft training to the NFL Draft days and culminating with the execution of a team contract, will be a case study of interest for years to come. There could be a lot of money on the line for traditional Contract Advisors should Elam find success and happiness after all is said and done and he begins to work with whichever team that drafts him. "From the team perspective, I would think all teams would be as fair as possible to the player without an agent," concluded Brandt. "If the team were to 'get over' on the player due to not having an agent, that would eventually come to light and cause problems with that player and perhaps others."

A football agent's commission, capped at a maximum of three percent (3%), does not appear to be much money and is certainly justifiable if a noteworthy and/or needed service is provided for the player. But what if Elam demonstrates the opposite? May we see others chart a similar course in the future? Abe says that Matt has had the opportunity to meet with all teams despite the fact that he has not retained an agent. "He has not missed any opportunities."